Saturday, December 31, 2011

Last thoughts of 2011...

As I was waking up this morning, thinking about the events of last night, it finally hit me that after tonight, this year is over.  That we will be welcoming 2012.  Maybe it's just me, but that's kind of crazy.  


Anyway, I got to thinking about how this year changed my perspective on life and the world around me.  

  • A year ago, I was mourning the loss of a great job and would soon find out what it meant to unemployed.  How my amazing family and friends refused to let me get discouraged when I thought that I would never find a job.  I have an even deeper love and appreciation for each and every one of them.
  • How, in those four and half months, I was able to finish writing the first draft of my second book.  (And haven't stopped writing.)
  • After saying over and over that I would never work for a government entity again, but did when I got a job with Meridian Township and somehow finding a new quirky work "family".  
  • Being able to go on two trips when many people couldn't afford to take one.
  • Being healthy


As we welcome in the new year, don't forget about all the lessons, rises and falls of 2011 and remember how those moments have changed your life for the better.  

Carrying with you the good....

As I get ready for my day, I leave you with the words of William Arthur Ward:  

Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!




Have a Safe and Happy New Year!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Remember This Everyday...


I had to borrow this from my sister's page...Thanks, Hill!

Friday, December 2, 2011

An Honest Moment

***Look, I am going to be so honest right now.  A tad bit more than I ever have and if you're not ready for it, then keep on moving.  If not, keep reading.***


On my first Friday night at home in a while, I got a chance to watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, one of those shows that requires a box of Kleenex to get through it.  Each episode tells a family's story and sometimes, it's one that anyone can relate to.  Tonight's episode was one of those.  This episode was one where a young boy committed suicide after being pushed over the edge by bullying.  He was 11 years old...his life hadn't even started.


Instead of focusing solely on the lose of her son, his mother has traveled all over Massachusetts and to Washington DC to fight against bullying.  Her oldest daughter is following in her footsteps, even as she starts her freshman year of college.  Her sister battles depression from losing her nephew.  I can't even imagine how they feel or what they're going through, but I spent the entire episode in tears.




Everyone that was on the show had been bullied at one point or another and I'm pretty sure you were.  


I was.  



The guests on this show included the Kardashian Sisters and Demi Lovato, a newer artist.  Khloe tells the family that because she looked different, thicker and taller than her sisters, she was bullied while she was growing up.  The sisters took the college freshman on a shopping spree...yeah, it was Sears, but it was the idea that they took care of her.  Then they helped the show organize an event with Demi, who was also bullied, to promote anti-bullying.


I'm not going to lie and say that it didn't help shape me into becoming the person that I am, because it did.  All for not being in the popular crowd and for being quiet or looking like everyone else.  Unlike this poor child, I didn't give up and I'm fairly certain had they known, that my family and friends wouldn't have let me give up.  


My point??


Bullying is a real problem....a deadly problem that is affecting the children around us.  What's ridiculous is that it's usually over something as minor as looks, race, opinions, jealousy, anything.  So let's think about how this affected us at one time and consider joining the fight against bullying.  


I leave you with these words: 
Some people won't be happy until they've pushed you to the ground. What you have to do is have the courage to stand your ground and not give them the time of day. Hold on to your power and never give it away.”
― Donna Schoenrock

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Thursday Thought

"Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together. 
~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe


As I was leaving Beaners, or should I say, Bigby, earlier this evening, an older woman who was with her daughter made it a point to hold the door open for me.  Something as simple as this stuck with me for one simple reason.  Not because some people are just like that, which I can understand, but because of the season we have officially entered into.  Twenty days from now is Christmas. 


I'm sure you're thinking "And....you're point being?"


I'm getting there.


This is the time of year when people are a little more patient with perfect strangers.  It's the little things like holding the door open, that smile or nod hello, being a little extra generous with our change when we see the bell ringers outside of the stores.  The list goes on, but I think you get my point.  I have always wondered why we do this as adults.  Is it because deep down inside, there is still a part of us that feels that maybe one of those deeds will make you look better in the eyes of others, like we did as children when we believed Santa was watching to make sure we were good.  That the better we were, the better our gifts.  In a way, it would make sense.


Or could it be that this is how we would like to be the other eleven months out of the year and that it is just a little more convenient or accepted during this time of year?  


Regardless of the reason, I wish that this attitude would continue all 365 days of the year, rather than just the month of December.